Hundreds of volunteers,community members and emergency services searched the Auburn area for Hussein Al Mansoory,who spent more than two days alone in the area after running away from his parents at a local park on Saturday morning.
12-year-old Hussein Al Mansoory had been missing since Saturday morning.Police media
Police held serious concerns for Hussein,who has Down syndrome and autism,and is non-verbal.
Taking the advice of police and NSW State Emergency Service members to check backyards,sheds and garages,a staff member at a local medical centre,nestled between Auburn’s police station and train station,checked the stairwell just before 1pm.
They found Hussein and immediately contacted police,who arrived to find him smiling and sitting up.
Superintendent Simon Glasser said Hussein’s family were immediately notified.
“They rushed to the scene and took him in their arms,” he said. “They’re quite ecstatic.”
He was taken to hospital for a precautionary check-up but “by all accounts,he’s well”,Glasser said.
Police do not know how long Hussein spent in the stairwell,or whether he found water. It would be difficult to establish his movements since Saturday because he is non-verbal,Glasser said.
Hussein was last seen by an Auburn resident on Norval Street about 9pm on Saturday. However,when she tried to approach him,he became anxious and walked away before police arrived.
Police and the NSW State Emergency Service searched the area late into Sunday evening,before resuming the search on Monday. The SES had close to 100 volunteers helping.
NSW SES Auburn Unit Commander Jamie Newman said it was a highly complex search spanning a “mini CBD” with high rises and many areas inaccessible to emergency services.
“Our volunteers,they’ve given up their weekend,a lot of them have given up their day from work today to search for the young fella,” Newman said. “We can’t say thank you enough for everyone giving up their time. It was a great outcome.”
Earlier on Monday,Glasser said police were “throwing everything” at finding Hussein,with music broadcast by some in the search parties in a bid to draw him out.
“This is as high risk as it gets for us with a missing person,” Glasser said at the time.
“It’s been 48 hours so that would be a struggle for anyone even without special needs.”
It is not believed there is any sinister element to Hussein’s disappearance.